Rhonda Bracey: At Random

I needed to make a dent in my fabric scraps. Not my fabric stash — my tubs of scraps. Offcuts, little leftover bits that were too ‘good’ to throw out, but not big enough to create something new from them. I use bigger offcuts to make bookmarks or luggage tags, or as backings for bookmarks. These other scraps might only be an inch or two square, or are the awkward bits like triangles or odd shapes. Gorgeous fabric — too good to throw out, but not big enough to make something from.

Then I saw a fish in a quilting magazine, made by Susan Carlson! It was made from lots of pieces of fabric, and I had the thought that here was a project for my scraps! (Of course, I have enough fabric scraps to make a whole school of fish, but hey, you have to start somewhere…)

So I made my first fish, and after some 10 hours of creation here it is:

I had a lot of fun deciding on the fabric scraps to use, then laying out the fish and embellishing him with free motion stitching. And no, I have no idea if my fish is a ‘he’ or ‘she’, so I’ll go with ‘him’. BTW, if you like him, you can buy him! http://www.etsy.com/listing/48905308/fish-of-the-day-orange He would look good in a picture frame on a wall!

I think my next fish will be made of lots of individual scales. More work, but it should use up a few more of those little bitty scraps I have…

Update: Two days after listing my fish, it appeared in an Etsy Treasury of lots of fish (my 21st appearance) — that was fast!

(http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c1126e878348eef6e48b942/give-a-man-a-fish#4c115fb30a5a6d91fc39652e)

Update: My fish went to Alaska! A colleague in Portland, Oregon purchased it as a gift for his parents who live in Alaska. So off it went, swimming all the way from Western Australia to Alaska (where you’d think they have enough fish!). His parents framed it and here it is in their home: